My kid needs a winter 3200 plan. Should he just follow Daniels?

Mileage and tempo runs with strides afterwards. Keep it simple.

Winter of malmo

You don't need to do gut wrenching speed workouts in base training, if anything it will probably have more of a negative impact...

I'd keep it simple, lots of easy running, 1 tempo a week (can be in the form of sub-threshold intervals or longer) but please keep it at tempo not race!! Do 1 long run that is at easy pace, and you can either do biweekly hill workout or just incorporate some strides twice or so a week.

Daniels is a very good guide but a lot of recent training philosophy now tends to go beyond that. First of all, very talented son you have if he is already running 9:30. Second, I would focus on a more strength based approach over the winter especially if he is running longer distances. Also important to stay in touch with speed periodically through strides and shorter maximal sprint training. Given it’s a long way until spring and his coach will likely have a heavy focus on speed work during the season, I would recommend something like this.

M-easy run plus short hill sprints to work on maximal speed. Find a steep hill and sprint up for 6-12 seconds. Take 3-5 minutes recovery in between and work up to 6-10 reps.

T- Tempo run or threshold intervals. A traditional Daniels 20-30 minute tempo is a good option but I prefer broken tempos or threshold intervals and is what I usually implement with my athletes. Examples being 8x3 minutes with 1 minute rest, 4x6 minutes minutes with 1 min rest, or 3x8-10 minutes with 2-3 minutes rest. Make sure these are at a threshold effort with a focus on not going too fast. It is better to run these a little slower rather than too fast or you can risk burning out or injury.

Periodically (maybe every other week) add 4x200 at current race pace to the end of these for a bit more speed focus.

W-Easy +strides/cross train

Thu: choose one of the threshold workouts from Tuesday or do a hill session. Find a moderate grade hill and work up to doing 10-12 x1 min or 6-10x2 minutes with a walk down recovery.

F-easy plus strides/cross train

Sat- long run

Sunday- rest or cross train.

Following something along these lines should have him very strong going into the season, and as I mentioned before, the focus of workouts then will transition likely into your more traditional interval sessions on the track.

Good luck to your son and let me know if you have any questions.

A version of this is the correct answer.

Hiring a private running coach, the investment is worth it when your kid gets an athletic scholarship. All the top athletes in Cali are doing it now, only way to be competitive at our large stage.

Yes,that's correct.And only the best is good enough. Hire J.S.

Sure fire way to get your kid to hate running, alienate him from his teammates and dispise you.

Not sure about the first and third points, but I’ve seen the second play out a few times. Almost no one in our area does it, so coaches and other athletes freak out when they see it even though it is the off season.

How is he going to qualify for Arcadia if his PR is 9:30? Is he a senior?

I just said 9:30 to frame the conversation and general level of the athlete, his PR is faster than that. He’d like to lower his PR in indoor to get into the best heat possible.

So you want him to break 9 indoor but you are here asking for advice? He is faster than most of the experts here.

I think the idea would for him to continue to improve with additional ideas and coaching philosophies. Fast kids need coaching too.

I think that a once a week long run at around his 'marathon pace,' might be a good idea to do. These usually aren't going to be too draining, if they are not too hard or too long. Maybe 10 - 13 miles at whatever his marathon-ish pace may be around. Take my advice with a grain of salt however, because I do not know your son or much about his prior training.

If your son is good why would you be looking for advice on an anonymous message board? Do you think AAU dads troll around looking for dribbling or shooting drills to use in the off season?

Pony up and hire a private coach. A HS coach that doesn’t invest in kids during the off season isn’t going to help you son reach his potential anyway. Daniels’ material is great for the scientific background, but it isn’t coaching, it’s a training plan. Find someone to coach the individual that your son is.

Ann Gaffigan has some nice training plans for high school distance runners, here is her winter training plan (12 weeks):

tandftraining.com

Offseason: Winter Base Training for Distance Runners (12 Weeks)

Track & Field Training

Event Groups: 800m and longer The Winter Base Training Phase for high school distance runners is the approximately 12 weeks between the end of Cross Country season (or Fall training) and the beginn…

Open link

Daniels will ruin a high school kid.
keep it simple as others have suggested.